New York planning tips

[Champagnebar]

Me and DH fancy a trip to New York next April - aim to go well ahead of the Easter holidays.

I’m keen to hear all tips please- best airline, where our hotel should be, how to travel from airport to city? How many days to stay there :)

We are generally pretty good at travelling independently but would a package be worthwhile for this trip?

Our closest airports are Manchester and Leeds Bradford. But we aren’t averse to using London airports if necessary.

Thanks in advance for all the useful info :)

Are you on a shoestring budget, or can you afford a bit more?

Getting the train in from JFK is easy & cheap if you’re travelling light, but if you have lots of luggage and can afford a taxi then they do a set rate into Manhattan.

I prefer Virgin personally but BA are good too.

Absolutely avoid “The Manhattan at Times Square” hotel, one of the worst hotels I’ve ever stayed in. Truly dreadful. That was the only time I did a package deal there and I won’t make that mistake again!

I actually like staying in the Financial District - easy walking / taxi / subway but slightly quieter than being around Times Square, and more for your money.

Going to bullet point some things I hope are helpful

I recommend 4-5 days.
I like virgin flights the best.
Subway is the cheapest way to get from the airport to your hotel.
It will be much cheaper to book things separately, all you really need to book is flights and hotel and if you can play around with dates) airports you should be able to find a good deal.
I like to stay in the times square or Manhattan area.

Norse airline is fine if on a budget.

Don't take the subway from JFK - airtrain to Jamaica station then Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) straight to Grand Central station.

No advice on where to stay as we stay with family, but I would avoid Times Square area as it's horrible, touristy and busy.

Subway is great for travelling up and downtown but it's best to walk if going crosstown.

Pick one high building to go up, and one museum.

Staten Island Ferry for free views of the Statue of Liberty and the Manhattan skyline.

3 full days plus travel days is enough, as you will want to go back.

Thank you for the replies :)

I think I had heard that staying in Times Square isn't recommended - quite happy to stay a little outside the busier areas and walk. Would Brooklyn be too far out? I believe it's not quite as sketchy nowadays, and we do struggle to get good vegan food and there seems to be a few restaurants in that area of NY?

Budget - we don't have to penny pinch (however I am inherently 'careful' so like to snap up a bargain if possible 😉)

Agree with not taking a cab from the airport. The train to Jamaica is much better, just have a look on TikTok and it will explain it to you.

Also, we love the New York City Museum. No one seems to go there and it’s brilliant.

marys fish camp is great but seems to have relocated ..?
and we loved the piano bar Marie’s crisis cafe https://maps.app.goo.gl/odjLkgcgauvHghM97?g_st=com.google.maps.preview.copy

We did Sunday to Thursday. Was perfect

I don't mind staying in Times Square but then I like a short walk back from the theatre in the evening.

I'd recommend the RIU Manhattan plaza. Has breakfast included which is quite unusual in NY, but set us up well for the day so we had a light snacky lunch and then a main meal in the evening.

I've been to New York 3 times, first two times I stayed in Manhattan and the last time in Brooklyn.

If you're willing to consider Brooklyn, I can recommend The Box House hotel. It's 8 years since I last stayed there but looks like it still gets good reviews.

If I was to visit NY again, I'd stay in Brooklyn.

I second staying in the Financial District or Brooklyn. Quieter than downtown Manhattan in the evenings and perfectly safe if you choose somewhere with good reviews.

Google maps and Citymapper are good for navigating the city. Both JFK and EWR easily accessible from the city via public transport, flying into EWR slightly cheaper in my experience and there’s not much difference between the airlines anyway. Immigration usually quicker at EWR but it depends on the time of day and terminal anyway.

You can’t walk everywhere though, NYC is massive. Just crossing from Brooklyn Heights into Manhattan takes almost one hour. So plan for lots of subway rides (or Ubers, but I’m not a fan of paying ££ to sit in traffic, and the subway is fine).

Brooklyn Bridge is worth crossing at least once. Ferry to Staten Island is free and you can see the Statue of Liberty if sitting on the right hand side leaving from Manhattan. The Highline is one of my favourite places in the world. Museums, Central Park, Broadway… I enjoyed a couple of free walking tours with local guides, for which you just need to tip at the end if you so wish (but it’s recommended, and in my experience it was worthy).

Just back.

4 days is good.
Book a hotel near a subway station or between stations, makes it easier to get around.
Taxi fare from JFK to Manhattan was $80.
I was not lugging suitcases around!
Get a guided tour round Central Park as its massive.
1.5 hrs Sightseeing cruise was also good.
You must try the banana pudding at Magnolia Bakery.
Lego Store on 5th Avenue was really cool.

I found the subway illogical. Should have used city mapper

Uber a waste of time I agree.

I found the high line nice but .. you know. It’s just a walkway

Agree - the subway system is highly illogical, not a patch on the London Underground.

I was also underwhelmed by Central Park I walked around and thought apart from its setting it’s like just a park. I’m sure it’s me because of everyone else loved

Really loved Ellis island trip. The museum is incredible

and do the 9/11 museum not just the memorial. My top tip would be to make your own way within the museum because you don’t really want to be looking at everything with someone else there’s so much to see.

Trying to think what else I liked

agtee eith Pp about Brooklyn bridge
definitely go in the morning because by 11 o’clock it’s rammed.

We walked back then after a quick coffee in Brooklyn and went to Chinatown and had some fantastic dim sum.

Next time I’d book her food walking tour of Brooklyn I think

It's easy to organise your own trip. We were there this April.

We stayed in the Upper West side mainly becuase it we arriving by train from Boston and we wanted something near Penn Station. We stayed at the Night Hotel Broadway. It was basic but perfectly fine for an active holiday.

NYC is expensive with a capital expensive - especially eating out and alcohol.

The subway is a good and affordable way to get around. It is complex and a bit shabby but perfectly fine. You can access it using your contactless card now, so is easier. Also I would not be afraid of the bus- the cross town buses were an wasy and quick way to navigate across upper Manhattan

We were only there for four days but highlighra were MOMA, the highline, Central Park, Coney Island, Greenwich Village, Chelsea.

We did a lot of walking around just absorbing the sights in various areas

The subway:
Certain entrances serve only uptown or downtown lines
Some trains are express
The 42nd Street Shuttle runs direct between Times Square and Grand Central
A weekly ticket is a good purchase if you'll make lots of trips
If the train stops due to a 'passenger incident', get out and walk. That train is going nowhere fast.

@Champagnebar Ive been to NY a few times. The most important thing is to work out what YOU want to see. Then plan where to stay. Financial District isn’t really near anything. Brooklyn is fine but you will travel to everything too! However it’s a nice base to go back to but you need to factor in travel. I love the High Line and the SoHo area (more old fashioned NY) but it’s not handy for The Met museum! So what do you want out of this trip? I always think a plan works to minimise travel. Don’t plan Staten Island ferry and The Met on the same day! Zone your activities.

Yes,Subway isn’t great. It’s very old fashioned.

BA code shares with AA and gives you lots more flight options. I’d never use a non direct flight. DD2 used Norwegian once. Total disaster. Cheap but awful. We often add a hotel via BA when we do a city break. They can be good value and give many flight options. You can play around with dates to get different pricing. Always check out quality of hotel via other web sites. Make sure it’s highly rated but good value for money. Rooms in NY are small. You are unlikely to get breakfast. Meals are very expensive. Tax snd 20% tip have to be factored in. It’s a very expensive city.

I would ensure you read up on what you want to see most of all. I think 4 nights is a good starting point. Maybe 5. Staying there and sightseeing is hard work and walking a lot definitely is. So plan what you can actually manage very carefully.

Yes we booked with BA and we were actually on AA. It was fine, decent range of films, edible food.

If you want to make the most of yout trip consider a red eye flight home. We got the 11pm flight back to London (meaning we got back late morning UK time). That meant we got a whole day in NYC - yes you will be tired but you'll be tired anyway.

Caveat - we live in London so were a 60 min train ride home from Heathrow.

We are just back. Stayed in midtoen, Lexington Hotel - but shabby but ok. We did a Central Park tour, high line, MoMa, SOL and Empire State. We didn't find it too expensive.

One Valnderbilt looks fun.

One Vanderbilt was AMAZING!

It's not just a view but an experience with other activities. Takes about an hour.
Gives a great view of the Empire State building plus all the other skyscrapers.

If you are hip and trendy, you might like Madame Tussauds New York. Takes 1-2 hrs max.

The Upper West Side is a great area to stay. Also lots of great delis to pick up lunch for on the go.

Circle Line your around the island is always a nice way to see a lot (the half way one is ample, to be honest, the top end isn’t exactly full of exciting views)

Top Of The Rock better than Empire Stare, because your view then includes the Empire State.

Metropolitan Museum Of Art is one of the best in the world (re-enact Harry Met Sally “proud to partake of your pecan pie” in the Egyptian hall) and has C a roof terrace with lovely views across the park and city.

The cherry blossom will probably be out, so some walks in Central Park will be particularly good. Boating on the lake is a tourist thing, but none the worse for that.

My best advice - watch every movie set in New York you can think of over the next 9 months and you will realise which things you most want to see.

Also - the actual Winnie the Pooh lives in the Children’s Library, the side entrance to the main library.

Book a table at Nubelez cocktail bar for sunset. Same price for 2 cocktails for 2 adults as it was for going up the empire state. Plus you get to sip some nice cocktails and enjoy the view.